Anushka Sharma is not afraid to voice her opinion. In an interview with Indian journalist-film critic Anupama Chopra, the gutsy actress did not shy away from opening up about the rampant sexism that exists in Bollywood.
She admitted that women in the Indian film industry are only required to look good and ‘interesting’ in a film. “Girls are expected to be good-looking, look nice. And be interesting enough in a film for a guy to be interested in you,” she said.
The actress added that unfortunately, once an actress loses her looks, she loses contracts for films which is not the case with male actors. “Men can work as long as they want to, even after they’ve aged. They’re still heroes and super heroes, still amazing and cool. Which is fine. But then why are women only taken for roles till they have their looks, till they’re seen desirable? There’s a sexual connotation attached,” she said.
Anushka also said that it’s more difficult for women to enter films compared to men, citing examples of male and female newcomers who are paid differently — men obviously paid more then women. “Regardless of whether anybody knows the two or not — they will not be paid the same amount for a film,” she said.
There is discrimination in terms of film scripting as well. Anushka explained that actresses don’t get as many lines as their male counterparts and even if they do, their lines usually revolve around a guy.
“If I do a film in which my role is superior to the guy’s, none of the guys will do that role. Even if it’s a great role, no guy will go for it,” she said, adding that none of the male Bollywood stars will ever opt for something similar to George Clooney’s role in Gravity.
And perks for male actors go beyond the script and money. “If a film has an outdoor schedule, you know the guy is going to get a better room than you,” said Anushka.
“When I was growing up my parents treated my brother and I with equality. We were never treated differently. I only faced discrimination after I became an actor,” she added.
But that doesn’t stop her from being vocal about the issue. She believes people don’t like women with ‘guts’. “If you ask for something you think you deserve, you are a b*tch and you have an attitude. We [Bollywood actresses] are not stupid. We’re not dumb. We haven’t come this far by being floozies. All actresses in the industry have a mind, they are intelligent,” she added.
Anushka did say that male actors also have to face a lot of pressure in Bollywood.
“You can’t even blame male actors [for sexism in the industry], even they’re under pressure to make a INR100-crore film. It’s a benchmark they have to reach,” said Anushka.
Her interview soon made headlines and HuffPo among other news agencies tweeted how ‘ballsy’ the actress was. The actress was quick to correct them.
Here are 7 incredibly ballsy things @AnushkaSharma said in an interview to @anupamachopra https://t.co/jiGsQ6nCUf pic.twitter.com/m347MdP3s6
— HuffPost India (@HuffPostIndia) December 1, 2015
